After days of violent protests in France, demonstrators known as the “gilets jaunes,” named for the yellow safety vests they wear, have spilled over into Luxembourg.
By Monday afternoon, the group had forced hundreds of motorists to slow down and stop. Reports indicate that the gilets jaunes have appeared in nearly every neighborhood in the country.
Claudette Grober, head of the Office of Unofficial Information, says the culprits are taking positions near high-visibility locations such as schools, intersections, and crosswalks. They are appearing at times when traffic is at its worst, particularly early mornings and late afternoons.
“Using their reflective vests and instruments such as illuminated batons and hand-held stop signs, these individuals are halting busy drivers, while at the same time allowing groups of wild young people to rush across the street,” she said.
Personal assistant Clementine Margot, 29, recounted to the Wurst her own experience of being confronted by the gilets jaunes.
“I was flying along Rue de Neudorf about 80 kilometers per hour, as I do every morning because I’m chronically late for work, when these two little people in yellow vests come out of nowhere and start frantically gesturing for me to stop,” she said. “I’ve seen what those people are doing in France, so there was no way I was going to slow down.”
“Good thing my Abarth 595 is turbocharged,” she added. “I kept speeding until those two hooligans were nothing more than little fluorescent dots in my rear-view mirror.”
